


A Lone Marine

by Illyrian



Category: One Piece
Genre: Angst, Eventual Romance, F/M, Slow Burn, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-28
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:13:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27761305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Illyrian/pseuds/Illyrian
Summary: What happens when a marine and a pirate meet?
Relationships: Fushichou Marco | Phoenix Marco/Original Character(s), Fushichou Marco | Phoenix Marco/Original Female Character(s), Fushichou Marco | Phoenix Marco/Reader
Comments: 4
Kudos: 43





	1. I. A Lone Marine

**Author's Note:**

> Updated weekly - unless holiday season.

„A lone Marine, you say-yoi? And she‘s looking for Ace? Fascinating-yoi.” Marco said, while scratching his beard. One of the new recruits had just brought the news about a marine captain, who had apparently appeared out of nowhere and was asking to see the commander of the second division.

“Gurarara. It seems that Roger’s brat is continuing the tradition of getting close to Marines. Let that captain come forth. I would like to see this lone Marine.” Whitebeard said, smirking.

A tall young woman, with dark golden hair and dark brown eyes was brought in front of Edward Newgate and all his men who had gathered around to watch what would undoubtedly turn into an amusing meeting. She did not carry any weapons and only her coat told of her affiliation. Considering her youth one would think that she would be deathly afraid of facing this many pirates and one of the Yonko himself. Yet she showed no fear. Either she was very good at not displaying her emotions or she was a fool. Marco couldn’t decide which was more likely. Then again, female officers were rare. Women rarely joined the marines and seeing them in the upper ranks was even less common a sight...

“What would a young captain like you wish to do on a pirate ship like this? Even more so alone-yoi?” The commander of the first division asked their strange guest, giving her a very cocky grin.

She returned this with a smile of her own and said: “Well, I was hoping to talk.” Her answer made some of the men chuckle. Some other men started to catcall her, in the hopes to tease her or even gain her attention, “Oi, talk with whom? Me?”, “I’d certainly be up for some nice talk, love.” Yet, the only reaction Riley gave them was a cocky smile.

“You are looking for my son. Why?” the mighty Whitebeard himself asked the young captain, obviously wishing to turn his attention to a more worthwile matter - as soon as possible. She was but a small fish in his eyes.

“As I said, I was hoping to talk. With Ace. Or have the Whitebeard Pirates forgotten what parleys are? I thought you care about honour, good conduct... .” The men turned silent at this insinuation. It was not every day that somebody questioned their honour and conduct. Did she know about the issue with Teach? Was she trying to rile up their captain? Again, Marco couldn’t decide. She was hard to read. Impressive. Still, she was but a young, untested Captain on the ship of the mightiest pirate. What a fool, Marco thought.

Their captain and the young marine have been staring at each other for a while now, the silence was turning into something heavy. Some of the men were starting to clutch their weapons, eagerly awaiting the command to attack. Then, just when the tension was about to become unbearable, Edward Newgate started to laugh loudly. His laughter shook the ship, destroyed the silence and dissipated the tension.

“Gurarara, you are a feisty one, captain. What is your name?”

Marco was not sure, but for a moment it looked as if she was greatly relieved to have survived this moment. She was a peculiar marine and he couldn’t remember when he last met one like her.

“My name is Monkey D. Riley.” And she gave them a big toothy grin at this, obviously knowing what her name gave away.

Whitebeard and his men were momentarily speechless but soon started to laugh again.

“Ah, so you must be a granddaughter of the fabled Hero of the Marines. It certainly explains your foolishness. ” – Vista, who had mostly been watching the discussion silently, commented.

She nodded at this and said “Yes, and the older sister of Portgas D. Ace.”

“I really like your spirit, young lady. If I were a few decades younger I’d surely make you my wife.” Whitebeard winked at Riley and gave her a very charming smile. The entire crew broke out into a laugh at their captain’s comment. Riley was laughing too and giving them a cocky grin as well, just before saying: “Well, I’m flattered old man. But I’m afraid that even if you were a few decades younger, we wouldn’t be a good _fit_.” She gesticulated at this, emphasizing his height and size - compared to hers.

If the crew had been laughing loudly before, they were practically screaming now. Quite a few of them were rolling on the floor. Even Whitebeard was holding his belly and had to swipe away the tears that had spillt out of his eyes.

“Gurarara. It is a pity, truly.” Edward Newgate told his guest chuckling, the mirth still evident in his eyes. He then continued, in a more sombre tone: “Well, my young lady, I’m sorry to inform you that Ace is on a mission. He won’t return until he has accomplished that mission.”

Riley’s smile lost its warmth and turned into a sad one. It seems that she had genuinely hoped to see Ace. “Ah, looks like I missed him then. Do you know where I can find him?” She asked, a moment later, still hopeful that her visit bore some fruit.

“Last I heard-yoi, he was about to enter Paradise. I’m sorry I can’t tell you more-yoi.” Marco told her. Then, commotion from another corner of the deck was heard. Riley turned her head at this, looked at some point eastwards of them and smiled. Something was moving towards them, but it was not yet clearly visible.

“Ah, I guess it’s time for me to go. I’d appreciate if you don’t shoot down my ship, Mr. Edward.” Riley said, while giving Whitebeard a sweet smile. Marco could make out the contours of her ship then. It was far closer then he would have thought possible. They should have had noticed it earlier.

“Gurarara, young lady. Don’t worry, we won’t take you hostage. Though, are you sure you won’t stay and consider my marriage proposal? Gurararara.” He said while winking at her again, inciting the laughter of his crew. Riley gave him a low chuckle and answered: “You truly are a charmer. I fear, my heart will not survive this for much longer. I should leave while I still can.” The crew continued to roar, some of the members were even yelling “How about me, love!?” , “You could also marry me!” or something along the line, and sending her hearts – which only made Riley lough louder.

A marine ship, a four-master, approached the Moby Dick then. It was quite small, at least compared to their giant of a ship, but obviously a warship - a very fast one given its design. Its colours were mostly blue and silver, with a speck of gold here and there. Marco, just like some of the other commanders, realized that this ship wouldn’t be easy to spot on the sea and more often than not seem to appear out of nowhere. In fact, given that they noticed it just moments ago supported this theory. Only the figurehead, an angel in armor with spear and shield whose wings covered a good part of the upper part of the bow, was making it truly recognizable. It was certainly no ordinary ship, which meant that the young captain in front of them should not be disregarded as well. Some of the laughter died down, once the crew realized that their commanders had become more serious.

“Would you like me to escort you, lone Marine-yoi? It’s quite far from the Moby Dick to your humble abode…” Marco offered the captain, giving her a lazy smile. “Ah, thank your for the offer commander, and thank your for your hospitality Mr. Edward. But I really must be going now.” Whitebeard nodded at this and with a flourish, Riley was gone from their ship. The younger crew members rushed forth, looking for her and then roared in surprise when they saw her gliding through the air, as if the distance meant nothing to her. Her own crew, lead by her two lieutenants were awaiting her on the other side, seemingly unfazed by this physics-denying display of skill.

“Ah, so the young lady has not only spirit but claws as well. Gurarara.”, Newgate said. “Aye, a pity though that she isn’t interested in becoming a pirate.” Vista said, sighing visibly. He had obviously taken a shine to the lone Marine.

Riley had by now reached her men, turned around and waved the Whitebeard pirates a goodbye. Then her ship changed course and darted away. A few moments later and the ship could not be sighted anymore.

“A fast ship-yoi. Impressive figurehead too. The lone Marine has good taste-yoi.” Marco commented, lazily scratching his three-day shadow. Jozu, who had been nearly silent throughout the whole encounter, nodded at this observation and added “This is St. Michael. I have heard of this warship, and its captain. They call her “The Vanguard”. Both have a tendency to appear out of nowhere and solve the world government’s problems in no time. Though, they have yet to meet serious adversaries….so far they have only taken care of the small fish.”

“Sounds like trouble to me.” Blamenco, the commander of the sixth division said. “That one may become a real headache in the future, ts.” The others could only nod at this. 


	2. Gathering of Information

Lev Michał, her first lieutenant was still watching those pirates through his scope, not entirely trusting them to stay where they were.

Sören Hel, her second lieutenant, and the tallest marine on the ship, felt the need to comment on this “They think us too small fish to bother. There’s no reason to follow us. Besides, they now know that the Captain is Fire Fist’s older sister. You are being unreasonably careful, Levy.”

Michał sighed dramatically at this. “And you are blind. Some of the commanders have been watching her every move, not to speak of the Yonko himself. And one more thing: _Don’t. Call. Me. Levy._ Idiot.”

Hel broke out a laugh at this. “I will, if you stop calling me idiot, Levy.”

“Hell will freeze over before I do, idiot.”

The two of them entered a staring contest, waiting for the first one to look away. Unfortunately for them, they did not see their captain approach, who had a wicked gleam in her eyes. Before they could react, she smashed their heads together, inciting a row of “Ows” and “Ughs” and other cries.

“Serves you right. Besides, could you survive a day, or even just an hour, without getting into a pointless fight?” she commented, looking rather amused by their grumpy facial expressions. The only answer she got was a grunt from each of them. She sighed and mumbled something along the lines of “Children, I’m commanding a battleship of overgrown children…” and went back to her cabin.

It wasn’t even ten minutes later when the transponder snail on her desk was making itself heard. With a sigh she picked up the call.

“Yes?” she said, not sounding all too enthusiastic.

“Ah, my beloved pumpkin. How are you?”

“Hello gramps, I’m fine. Why are you calling?”

“Straight to the point, ah….pumpkin, I’m glad you’re taking after me, bwahahaha.”

“Grandpa…”

“Well, I just wanted to see how my favourite grandchild is faring and if you need anything.”

Riley pinched her nose bridge and sighed at this, she loved her grandfather dearly but….

“Gramps, I’m fine. Just as I have been two days ago when you last called”

“That’s great. Anything interesting happened in the last two days?” He sounded far too enthusiastic to her ears. Or maybe she was just too tired. The tension from her meeting with the strongest pirate of all has not yet entirely left her body. She would need a nice bath and maybe something to drink later on.

“Well, I was promoted….”

“What, again? So soon? That calls for a celebration! My darling granddaughter is breezing through the ranks, bwahaha!” His outburst was so loud that the whole desk was shaking and Riley tried her best to get as far away from that snail as possible. Why could he never just behave in a civilized way, but had to be this eccentric? It was a mystery to her.

“So where are you right now pumpkin? I can pick you up and bring some of the rum you love. Or maybe a cake? What do you say?”

She had to admit, that sounded wonderful but then she remembered that they couldn’t just wait for Garp to join them from wherever he currently was. A pity. She wouldn’t say no to a good bottle of rum. There was also this big mountain of papers waiting for her. Truly, the day couldn’t get any worse. She had at least hoped to speak to Ace after all this time, when she heard the Whitebeard pirates were in the vicinity….

“Grandpa, thank you but we’re on the way to Water 7. And once we’re done with the repairs we’re supposed to go on a new mission.”

“Well, that’s too bad then...”

“Yes, it is. Gramps, I still have some paperwork to do. So I’ll have to go now. Thanks for calling.”

“Alright, take care pumpkin.”

“You too granddad.”

Ace was somewhere in Paradise, on a mission. She had heard rumours that there had been a mutiny in the Whitebeard crew – which was entirely unheard off. Those pirates were famous for being absolutely devoted to Whitebeard, for being a tight knit family. So what was Ace's mission? Was that mutiny somehow connected to it? She was far too low in the marine hierarchy to receive intel of such calibre. Well, they would be arriving in Water 7 in roughly a week. Maybe she’ll be able to gather some more information and put the pieces together. Or hear something about Fire Fist. There’s no way that he could pass silently through a settlement or town, without being spotted at all. Trouble is following his every step (and Luffy is just like that), so the chance is actually quite good that she'll hear something and maybe have a better lead than "somewhere in Paradise". Water 7 is a hub after all, all kinds of people stay there for repairs.

In that moment Michał entered her cabin.

“I take it that parley didn’t go entirely the way you wanted it to?” he noted while walking up to her and taking a seat in front of the desk.

“No, unfortunately not. Ace wasn’t there and they themselves didn’t seem to know where exactly he is right now. They only pointed me in a rough direction.” She said, while simultaneously starting to work on the papers in front of her.

“That’s unfortunate.”

“You’ve been watching the parley through your scope?” she asked, already knowing the answer partially. She knew that her first lieutenant would provide the rest.

“Yes. The commanders were following your every move. Especially the blonde haired one and the big one with the small, pointy head. I’d say the blonde one is the commander of the First Division.”

Most people that come across Lev Michał would consider him a pretty boy and nothing more. He was slightly taller than her, not as bulky as Hel and had long black hair and eyes as golden as the sun. Yet, he was one of the best snipers in the entire marine; highly intelligent and perceptive as well. Riley could count on him to pick up on things she had missed and they often would sit together to discuss what they learned, or to plan ahead. He had entered the marine corps a few years before her, he was four years older after all, and they had become fast friends after some small, short-lived rivalry.

“I agree, he was always to the right of Whitebeard and the others seemed to respect him most out of everybody else. Compared to the other men he was also the most tense, even though he managed to make it appear as some form of laid back attitude.” Riley said

“Not all commanders were there, just four or five from what I could see.”

“Yes. Apparently it’s become uncommon for the entire fleet to travel together, they have no reason to. Besides, it makes sense if you consider that they still have territory in the New World to protect.”

“A truly formidable crew, no wonder they are feared.”

Riley nodded at this. Michał knew that the conversation was over, there was nothing more to say to this so he decided to take his leave. Right before he reached the door he remembered something and turned around once more.

“There’s something else…”

“Hn?...” 

“Makino called. She said Luffy has set sail.”


	3. Intermezzo

Michał stood there, looking at her, wishing he had never woken up today. His headache was getting worse by the minute. 

"Cap, tell me again, just to make it clear, why we now have a bill of several thousand Belly for repairs. On top of what we already have to pay for the work on the ship? Hmn?" 

Railey obviously wasn't very forthcoming and just laughed uncomfortably, as if she hoped that the matter could be settled that way. But not on Lev's watch, he was responsible for their finances. Like hell he'd just let this go easily. Speaking of hell, that fool wasn't talkative either. A highly suspicious behavior, he'd normally spill the beans in a matter of seconds. No matter, Lev Michał wouldn't be the second in command of this ship if he didn't know how to work the crew, even the captain if need be. 

"Idiot, you're so calm this beautiful afternoon. I guess some bird didn't sing the way you wanted to?" he told the idiot lieutenant, knowing where to strike. 

"Khakhakha, Levy. I think you're mistaking me for somebody else. No woman on this world can resist my charms." His answer prompted the other two to look rather critically in his direction. Hel, obviously not getting their point, said "What?" 

"Don't you think you're a bit too full of yourself, huh?" Riley asked her second lieutenant, visibly scowling at him. 

"Huh, what do you mean Cap?" he in turn asked her, looking rather clueless.

"You, pea brain, are delusional if you think that all women fall for you." Michał told him, Riley nodding along energetically. 

"Khakhakha, Levy. You're just jealous because they don't like squishy pretty boys like you. Women want a real man." Michał was about to smack Hel when Riley lifted her hand, signalling that she has something to say. 

"Tell me, Hel, if all women fall for you - why haven't I?" she said, in an uncharacteristic sweet voice. Lev froze the moment he heard that voice. He had only seen her react like this once in all the time he has known her. 

"...... whaddaya mean?" Sören Hel, the clueless idiot asked again, thereby digging his own grave. Railey, now visibly agitated, the veins popping on her forehead, asked with barely hidden restraint: "Am I not a woman?" 

"Well,....I think...." the answer came from the wannabe marine casanova. 

"You think. Is that so?" Railey, now having grabbed her second lieutenant by the collar and shaking him for good measure. Michał didn't think that this would bring any order into brain of the idiot, but well... maybe it was worth a try. 

"Well, you're Cap. A woman is more....you know." he said, trying to gesticulate with his arms to bring his point across. At least he has finally figured out that he had signed his death warrant and was looking rather pale and sweaty, Michał thought. Their captain was quite a force to be reckoned with, especially when furious...

" _I know_ !?", really not in the least satisfied with the pea brain's answer, Riley continued to press him for a better one. Michał was sure that the next one would lead to the idiot's last moment in this life, halleluyah. Which is why he didn't feel the need to butt into this. Cap had everything under control. In fact, a little bit of popcorn or a good glass of wine would be perfect. But alas, one can't have everything. 

"I mean, a woman's small, weak, pretty, bus..." Before Hel could even utter one more word, Riley made sure to punch him and send him flying. Good riddance. It was a rather satisfying scene, if you asked Lev. Wait, there was something else.... Ah, madness. He had nearly forgotten about it. Still, it was worth all of this. Although, now he would have to question a fuming Riley and that is something he usually tries to avoid. 

He cleared his throat, hoping to catch her attention without having to face her ire. 

"What? Do you have something smart to say as well?" she pretty much hissed. "No." he said, not managing to surpress a whimper. Heavens on earth.... Scratch it, he'll just hand over the money. His life's more worth than his pride and job. It's the marine's money anyway, why should he care that much about it. 

It was just in that moment that the idiot managed to send a sign of life from withing the pile of rubble he was lying in. "Some bloke ate her stew, that's why." 

"Someone... _ate your stew_? And you saw it fit to destroy a whole tavern?" Michał asked, looking at Monkey D. Riley, not really believing his ears. Riley huffed and crossed her arms. He lifted an eyebrown in return. 

"It wasn't my fault!" , "Well..." Riley and Hel said simultaneously. 

_\- Three hours ealier, somewhere in Water 7 -_

"So Levy is managing the repairs, the crew is mostly sleeping or eating in upper town. And you wanted to see some place in the the bowels of Water 7?" 

"Not just any place, Hel. The tavern that serves the best fish stew in all of Water 7." Riley said, giving him a broad smile. He never understood her love for those thick soups. It's just food, nothing to get excited about. 

Soon they reached a rather old looking tavern that didn't seem that inviting to him. "Are you sure that it's the right place?" he asked, just to be sure. 

"Yes, the old man from last time said I should look for "Whiskey in the Jar". And that's it, you see the sign." , "What a strange name for a tavern...."

"Who cares about the name. Let's go, the stew's calling." Riley said, pretty much pulling him along in her rush to get inside and eat this famed stew. 

The inside of the tavern didn't look much better than the outside. In fact, a lot of shady people seemed to be frequenting this place. He should have stayed with the pesky Lieutenant. This place reeked of trouble and he'd like to have a break once in a while. They have been on missions non-stop in that past few months after all. The moment the other customers saw them everything turned silent. Hel guessed that marines were a rare sight in this part of Water 7. Riley though was not troubled by that attention at all and was already sitting down at the only free table left. She most likely only had the stew on mind. Hel sighed and sat down as well, noticing that they were still stared at. A few moments later someone came to take their orders but Hel's attention has already switched to something, or rather someone else. A beautiful woman was smiling at him, while drinking what looked like a bottle of rum. Naturally, he went over to her and they got into a little conversation. The other ones in the tavern had by then already started to behave in a more normal fashion as well. So he informed his captain that he would go for a small stroll with his new company. It was just in that moment that the stew and the rest of the dishes they had ordered was carried to their table, so Riley waved him away...not having much time for anything else. Her eyes were practically glued to the stew. 

Riley, incredibly happy to finally get a taste of that famed stew could barely wait. Hel had already left but she didn't really care. Then she took the spoon, dipped it in the mouthwatering fish stew and carefully brought it towards her mouth and breathed the smell in. You have to savour something so well-made, not gulp it down like some uncivilised barbarian. The smell was hypnotising and oh, the taste! She had never eaten such a good fish stew. The fish was heavenly as well, the texture not chewy but melting in her mouth. It was a fish she had not yet eaten, which explains why this stew is so famous around here. She felt like dancing from happiness - only to fall asleep in the next moment. Thankfully, years of training allowed her (compared to the rest of her family) to do so in a more gracefull fashion and not spill the precious contents of the stew. Or even worse, have her face fall right into the bowl.....

Half an hour must have passed at least, when a group of pirates entered the tavern. The place was still full and they saw Riley sleeping next to her steaming stew. Their leader, naturally amused by the scene bellowed out “Look at that, a little marine sleeping peacefully in a tavern full of pirates!”, making everybody else laugh. All the ruckus failed to wake her up and still she slept.

“That one must be a fool.”, “Let’s have some fun with her!” and other utterances were heard, yet they failed to incite a reaction from Riley. The pirate captain sat down next to her, bend down and said “Hey-ho, little marine. Look who’s come to play!” making everybody laugh again. His comrade next to him used the chance to eat the stew. Riley, slowly rising from her sleep, noticed that she wasn’t alone anymore. Yet, the first thing she saw, with horror in her eyes, was that pirate eating the last spoon-fulls of fish stew. “Hey, that was mine you scum!” She screamed, leaping across the table to pull the pirate up by his collar. Alas, it was too late. There was no stew left. Riley, steaming, demanded that they pay for a new stew. The pirate captain only laughed at this. “Why, little marine, should we do that? Don’t you realize that it would be better for you to shut up?” This, naturally, angered her even more.

“And you should realize that it’s not nice to eat other people’s food.”

“Ah, my friends. I think we need to teach her a lesson, what do you say?”

_\- Three hours later, at one of the docks_ -

“Alright, those idiots did deserve the beating they got. But couldn’t you be a bit more careful? You destroyed the tavern.” Michał said, sighing in defeat.

“I tried, but they didn’t want to stop. As I said, it’s not my fault if they come at me all at once. Besides, I did try to take the fight outside.” Riley answered, still pouting.

“Fine, fine. What’s done is done. At least there’s one stupid pirate gang less that will make trouble around here.”

“Hmpf. Not for long, this place attracts all kinds of people.” Hel said, brushing away the debris from his clothes.

“Ah, yes. Did you at least manage to collect some information while you were down there?” The First Lieutenant asked his captain.

“Well….”


	4. The course is set

"Blackbeard", she said while looking into her glas full of rum - as if it would tell her the answer to whatever question she had. 

"Huh?" Hel asked, not following (or not being able to, one can never be too sure with this guy) his captain's train of thought.

"That's the name that has been whispered in nearly every conversation I managed to listen in." Riley explained. 

"Ah....so that's why...." Michał, as always knowing what Riley was thinking about, added. Hel was only looking from one to the other waiting, like a dog for his bone, to be let into the secret. 

"This is not going to make it easier. At all." Riley's second said while downing his drink. 

Riley sighed "No, unfortunately not. From what I heard it was Blackbeard who killed one of Whitebeard's men, apparently a commander named Thatch."

"So this Blackbeard must be strong?" Hel asked. 

Riley nodded at this. "It's not only that. We know painfully little about Whitbeard's men in general."

"Why is that?"

"Peabrain, I see that you never paid any attention to the lessons and speeches we were given as grunts. We were told that we shouldn't engage pirate gangs like the Whitebeard pirates and inform the admirality immediately if they were to attack. Information about the most dangerous pirates and criminals is usually only distributed on a need-to-know basis. The reason is simple enough: to avoid having men like you, with an overblown ego, running after them and getting killed in the process."

"I wouldn't get killed that easily..." Hel said, pouting. Riley had to chuckle at that. That man sometimes truly resembles a dog, she thought. Maybe she should convince him to wear a get-up in the style of gramps? Hahaha, a truly amusing thought. Though, it would get ripped to pieces whenever Hel would get into a fight....he isn't one to fight with pose and style after all. So it would be a waste of money only. 

"Be that as it may, we still don't know where Ace or Blackbeard are. At least not precisely." Riley surmised. 

"It's not entirely clear either whether Ace is truly hunting down his former crewmember or doing something entirely different." Michał injected. 

"No, though I have a feeling that my little brother is doing exactly that."

"So what do you want to do? Follow rumours that indicate Blackbeards whereabouts?"

"It certainly would be a possibility; where Blackbeard is, Ace will sooner or later be as well. Though, it may be unwise to get involved in their fight." their captain said. 

"Well, then we just have to find your brother before he fights against Blackbeard." Hel, having come to a conclusion, said. 

"Still, I don't understand why you want to go out of your way to see your brother. The stunt on Whitebeard's ship was already risky. What if the higher-ups get wind of what you're doing? They just started to hand out better missions. I'd really like to avoid being demoted ....or worse." Michał said while looking rather sternly at his captain. Riley in turn was just giving him one of her big cocky smiles - and nothing else. 

"No, comment, cap....?"

Riley still gave him the silent treatment, well...with that smile of hers. Obviously. Michał could only sigh at that. There was no use trying to squeeze more info out of her. She'd sooner put on a dress and heels and tango with him than say more than she deemed necessary. And Riley in a dress? No, unimaginable. Impossible. At least in this life.

"Levy, it's simple. Riley hasn't seen her brothers in at least two years. Of course she wants to meet them again, why wouldn't she want to?" 

"Who asked for your opinion, idiot? Not everybody is in the Marines for the "fun of it". In fact, most people think about more than just getting into fights, peabrain." 

"What are you trying to say with that, Levy?" Hel asked. The two entered a staring contest and ignored Riley's attempts to get their attention back. Which is why she ended up hitting both of them. Sometimes a women needs to turn to violence to be heard. 

"Ow, what was that for?" Hel asked her, massaging the back of his head. 

"Why do you two always have to turn simple conversations into a pissing contest? Huh?" Riley wished to know and looked at them both. Her subordinates seemingly had no answer for that. Michał was even sporting a nice pink colouring on his cheeks. The captain had to grin at that. It was far too easy to make her second in command uncomfortoble. A little bit of crude language was all it usually took. Michał noticed her grin and cleared his throat. 

"Right, so what about your youngest brother?" he asked, trying to steer the conversation into better, more agreeable waters. Fortunately, Riley didn't press the previous issue and was courteous enough to answer. Still, she did give him a knowing smile, making Michał mood turn sour. She was enjoying this far too much.... 

"Well, given that both Ace and Luffy are currently in Paradise the chances aren't too bad either to meet both. In fact, now that I think about it - Ace will probably want to see Luffy as well. And given that our youngest brother is the biggest troublemaker....yes, of course. Why haven't I thought about that earlier? We'll just have to find Luffy and then't we'll know where Ace is. It's that simple. And there's no way that we won't be able to figure that out. Luffy can't stay anywhere without causing chaos." Riley said, laughing. 

"I guess we have a course then?" Hel asked, full of hope. He was slowly getting tired of this conversation...or rather bored. Besides, it was time to train, eat and then sleep. Talking and planning that much was exhausting. Strategizing is usually something he let the cap and Levy do. They were the brains and he was the muscle. And the charms, obviously. 

"You mean apart from the course we're currently on?" Riley asked, chuckling.

"Well yeah, I mean that course has already been set for a while." Hel added, trying to sound smart. Even Michał had to laugh at this. Sometimes the idiot was amusing enough. 

"Yes yes, we now have mission 1: "Find the brothers" and mission 2: "reconaissance". Now off with you peabrain, I doubt you can sit still for an other minute." the second in command of the St. Michael said. There was no point in forcing Hel to stay put any longer. His brain would fry otherwise and they certainly don't need another useless causality like that. Riley had to laugh at that, it was simply too funny. Hel though, he didn't even wait one more second and rushed off to train. 

"I gather that you have something else to say?" She said, while swiping away the tears from her eyes. 

"You do realize that we may be walking straight into our deaths if we end up facing Blackbeard, yes? You were on their ship. The Whitbeard commanders are in an entirely different league." Michał said in a rather sombre tone. 

"Nah, I don't think that will be a problem. Besides, they were nice." Riley answered, giving him a big toothy smile. 

Michał had to sigh at this. He was developing a headache. When she decided on something there was no use in trying to convince her of the contrary. Riley was stubborn as a mule. 

"Yes well, they may have been nice. Blackbeard though isn't, otherwise he wouldn't have murdered a member of his crew. In cold blood." 

"We'll deal with it when it comes to that." Riley said, her tone indicating that the conversation was over. Yes, definitely. The headache was there. Ugh, what a pain. And here he thought he could relax today. 

"You know, sometimes I really want to know where you get that otherwordly confidence from...." 


	5. A boring day

It was a beautiful day and a rather boring one – a rarity in fact. This was highly unusual and Marco started to worry. Something always happens and it was far too calm for his liking. Ace had sent message from Logue town, informing them that he heard that the traitor Teach had passed through not too long ago but that Ace wasn’t able to find any sign of him and would continue to be on the look-out for information. Pops wasn’t feeling that great either and Marco was starting to worry more by each day. Newgate’s body was exceptional, but a life of fighting and numerous near death occasions had left their trace. Maybe he’d find some new treatments to slow down this process in the new books he had bought in the last town? It would be worth a try, especially if nothing else of importance came up today.

Whitebeard must have noticed that something occupied his commander’s thoughts and so he said: “It is nice to enjoy the calm once in a while. So why do you look like you bit into a lemon, gurarara?”

Marco, sighing, replied: “I’d feel much better if you’d let me treat you properly pops.” Causing Whitebeard to laugh wholeheartedly.

“It has been more than twenty years and you still haven’t learnt son. If and when I require your help I will inform you. Your powers are better used helping the others. I’m still strong enough.”

Marco scowled and decided to not press the matter further, at least for now. Maybe a day will come where pops will change his mind. He was just about to inform Whitebeard that he’d spend the rest of the day in his cabin reading when Jozu, Vista and Blamenco were coming towards them. They were in high spirits, joking around and carrying a load of all kinds of things. There were numerous barrels, meats, many sacks full of something – probably vegetables or fruits. This meant that they’d have a little party later on. .

“Yoi, what happened that put a smile on your ugly mugs?” Marco asked them rather loudly, so that they’d hear it even though they were making such a ruckus carrying all that food and alcohol.

“It’s a quaint little town here but the people are the good sort. We simply had a lot of fun.” Blamenco said.

“Yes, they didn’t even let us pay for all of this but simply gave it all to us.” Vista explained, sounding rather pleased.

“Gurararara, are you sure they weren’t afraid of you?” Edward Newgate asked his sons teasingly. Marco grinned. Good food and drink always made pops happy. It seems the day would end nicely.

“Nah, they didn’t seem afraid to me.” Jozu replied. “Though, now that I think they did hurry with providing us with all of this. Hmm, well. It doesn’t matter now.” Whitebeard laughed heartily, most of his men have seen so much of the world and how bad a place it can be. They were usually also old enough to be fathers themselves yet they sometimes still behaved like innocent and naive little boys. It warmed his heart.

“Where’s Izo by the way? Didn’t he accompany you – yoi?” Marco asked, realizing that the commander of the 16th division was missing.

“Yeah, but we got separated.” Vista said while rearranging some of the goods he had brought onto the ship.

“Huh, how did that happen?” the commander of the first division wanted to know. “The usual. Some bloke found him pretty and invited him for a drink, hahahahah.” Jozu said, laughing loudly and putting a smile on everbody’s face. It wasn’t unusual that Izo was invited to food and drink. In fact, Marco can’t really remember a time when Izo declined such an invitation, he wasn’t one to say no to it. “Food’s food and drink’s drink” Marco remembered him once saying. Though, such an invitation usually ended up having a rather comic “finale” – when the other person realized that Izo only looked like a woman but was a man through and through.

“So, how pretty did that bloke find Izo - yoi?” Marco asked them, chuckling. He could already picture it. “Well, the way his eyes formed hearts I’d say the really pretty kind, hahahaha.” Jozu said. “Yeah, those hearts will surely but slowly disappear once the fool realizes how easily our girl Izo can eat and drink through a person’s wallet.” Blamenco provided, making everybody on the ship laugh loudly. Pops was laughing so hard that tears started to leak and he had to wipe them away. “I really don’t envy that bloke. Imagine hoping you’d have some nice fun and then….when you see what is beneath the clothes….” Vista explained rather pointedly, causing all of them to roar.

“What is beneath is the epitome of the male body, tsk.” Izo, just having gotten on the Mobdy Dick, said.

“Izo, love, how nice of you to join us!” some of the other men said. “How was your date?” an other asked.

“Epitome of the male body? If anybody has that it certainly isn’t you.” Blamenco said, sounding rather too sure. “Is that so? You’re certainly one to speak fatty…” Izo answered good naturedly. They hadn’t yet started partying but the crew was in such a good spirit that there was no point in delaying it any longer. Marco wasn’t the only one who thought so. Some of the men were starting to hand out alcohol while the cooks went on to prepare some of the food.

“You look like the cat who caught the canary. So spit it out.” Vista remarked, having noticed the overconfident smirk Izo was sporting.

“Well, that man who invited me wasn’t just a nobody. He had quite interesting information to share.” Izo explained, rousing the interest of everybody else and temporarily stopping the commotion. The commander of the 16th division visibly enjoyed the attention of his mates and puffed up like a peacook. He truly was vain.

“What kind of information?” Whitebeard wished to know. “Oh, just some really nice details about our favourite Marine.” Izo replied, giving a suggestive smirk. This one sentence guaranteed Izo the entire attention of the Whitebeard pirates for the next hours. Most of the men were waiting for the commander to begin his account and urging him to continue, yet Izo only shook his head. "Ugh, you greedy son of a...." Jozu muttered "Somebody get our girl a drink and something to eat." he said more loudly, making pops grin broadly. All thoughts about this day being a boring one disappeard from Marco's mind. Izo, having accepted food and drink and gracefully taken seat centre stage (he had a penchant for the dramatic) didn't give them the satisfaction to begin with the story immediately. Instead he first enjoyed a bit of the good ale the other three had managed to find. "Oh come on, don't give us the silent treatment!" Blamenco protested "Yeah, this isn't fair!" somebody else said, some other men nodding along with a similar sentiment evident by their facial expressions. "We want to know too!" just before the others were about to turn rowdy out of frustration, Izo signalled for them to keep their mouths shut by raising his hand. "You see, the man I met was a former marine." here he paused, in order to build the tension. " A captain too, somebody who has a thing for our dear lone marine." he explained, emphasizing the last part. He took a little break again, this time to drink from his ale " And what he had to share, after drinking a few pints, was rather fascinating....." 


	6. How to woo women?

„Is that so - yoi? How can you even be sure that he was really talking about our marine? You weren’t here when she came looking for Ace, Izo.” Marco remarked, disrupting the festive atmosphere. 

“Don’t listen to the spoilsport. Marco, why don’t you go read one of those books you bought recently?” Vista threw in, in the attempt to have Izo continue.

“Who cares about that. Let’s just hear the story!” Blamenco said while chewing on an especially tasty piece of meat that was nearly the size of his head. The others nodded energetically. Marco was in the minority and a quick glance at Whitebeard, who in turn was giving him one of his cheeky grins (probably not buying the apparent indifference of his son) revealed that there was no point in continuing that line of thought, at least for now. He’d only make himself the target of endless teasing. The first division commander wasn’t going to give pops or the crew that satisfaction. So he just sighed, picked up the book he had brought earlier while the food and drinks were being prepared, sat down, opened it and began to read it. If the story was good enough he’d listen and stop reading, at least that was his plan. 

“Where was I? Ah, yes. So that former marine invited me to have some drinks. It was very nice from him. So we got talking and I asked him what he was doing in that bar, getting drunk that early. He proceeded to tell me that he was nursing his poor broken heart. He had colluded with some local thugs to collect enough money and buy precious jewellery…..which by the way, was the reason why he wasn’t a marine anymore…… for the woman, our marine, that has stolen his heart. He was sure that she’d like him once he gave it to her because…..”

“Hah! What a fool! The way to a woman’s heart isn’t paved by gifting expensive jewellery.” Vista exclaimed, shaking his head in annoyance by that marine’s intentions.  
“Yeah, so what’s the right way Romeo? Never seen you being successful with the ladies either….” Blamenco threw in. 

“Well, no wonder fatty. Your eyes are usually glued to the food in front of you. So how you could see me walking away with the ladies to have some private time?” the commander of the fifth division countered. 

“I’d be looking somewhere else if there were gals worth the look. So far, food has always been the better choice, gwahahaha.” 

“Pff, I wonder what those women are supposed to look like?” Jozu voiced his thoughts. 

“Well, there should be plenty to look at. Obviously.” Blamenco stated, as if it were the most logical answer in the world. He did make sure to gesture what he meant, which lead to everybody laughing. By now, the atmosphere on the Moby Dick had turned into one of absolute merriment. Apart from Marco, who pretended to not listen (though he smirked and had to suppress a laugh ever so often), everybody was contributing to the “discussion” rather energetically. 

“Son, if you’re looking for such proportions you may have to search for a giantess - or resign yourself to a life of celibacy. Gurarara.” Whitebeard said to Blamenco, while nursing his drink. 

“Yeah, your chances are pretty much non-existent!”; “Better give up now and take what is there!” some of the other men added. Blamenco though, stubborn as he is, was shaking his head.

“Never! I won’t accept anything less!” he exclaimed rather loudly, thereby causing the laughter to rise in frequency. It was simply too funny. Blamenco looked so sure of himself and didn’t even accept the possibility that his plan may not have been the best. 

“Well then, fatty, do what you must!” Vista said teasingly, while trying to swipe away all the laughing tears that had appeared.  
“Vista-san, so what is the right way in your opinion?” one of the nurses asked in the hope to steer the conversation in a slightly different direction. Sometimes it only needed a few teasing remarks for a fight to break out. And her, just like her other colleagues, didn’t feel like spending the rest of the evening or tomorrow morning patching up half the crew. 

“Ah, you’re just asking the right person Kimiko-chan. The keyword is “romance”. There’s no good fun without it.” The commander of the fifth diversion let everybody know while making sure to give her a wink. “You have to be attentive to the other person, woo her and make her feel wanted, important. Only then will it become something more.” He added, his tone becoming rather suggestive.

“Pff, that may be enough (if you play your cards right) for one night of fun – but nothing long term- yoi. I wouldn’t listen to Vista either, if I were you.” Marco commented, sounding rather bored. The nurses were chuckling at that which annoyed Vista in turn. 

“So if you’re this knowledgeable about such matters, birdie, why don’t you tell us how to woo women?” Vista wanted to know, causing the crew to break out in laughs again. 

“I’d be interested in that too, Marco.” Izo, who had so far kept mostly to himself and watched the enfolding discussion (being rather amused by it), said. Marco in turn sighed and muttered something along the lines of “idiot” and “kept mouth shut”. 

“I can’t tell you how to woo women, though I think I know how to woo the right woman.” He finally said emphasizing the last part, yet still pretending to read his book. 

“Tell us!” , “Yeah tell us Marco!” , “Out with it!” other crew mates shouted. 

“It’s simple. Be yourself - yoi.” He answered deadpan while glued to his book, causing Whitebeard to laugh so hard that the Moby Dick shook. The others soon joined in. It was simply far too comical. 

“What a genius, truly. The words of an true intellectual.” Vista commented, making sure to sound as sarcastic as possible. Some of the men nodded at the commander’s opinion. Apparently, Marco’s approach wasn’t the most popular, or believable, one.

“Izo, why don’t you continue with the story?” Whitebeard then said. He was curious enough about it to ask. 

“Well, he had thought he’d get through to Riley because she apparently wears very expensive looking earrings.” Izo explained.

“Huh, now that you say it….she was wearing some fancy earrings – yoi.” Marco said, not noticing that he had actually voiced his thoughts and spoken out loud. That earned him a cheeky grin from pops and some of the other men. Izo though, looked rather lost in thought, which Jozu noticed. 

“There’s something on your mind?” he asked his mate. “Well, I’m not sure if that is connected ….but I have to know. What did those earrings look like?” Izo asked the men. Most of them tried to remember, but looked rather lost. 

“Ah, well….I’m not sure. They were shiny but I have to admit I didn’t pay a lot of attention to them.” Vista said. “Of course you didn’t, you were far more interested in her backside.” Blenheim added, making the others laugh again. Vista only shrugged at this. 

“No, they were golden!” ; “Nah, they were red!”; “You fools, I’m sure they were silver!” some of the other men threw in. Even Whitebeard seemed to be contemplating the question and trying to remember.

“She wasn’t close enough. I did notice something shiny as well but it was too small for me to make out.” Edward Newgate finally added. 

“So there’s nobody who remembers what they looked like? What a disappointment...” Izo said. The others turned silent at this. They usually didn’t need to pay attention to things like that.  
Marco cleared his throat at that moment, evidently to have the attention snap to him. He refused to look at the others, but his cheeks had gained a nice colouring. “They were precious stones in the form of elongated teardrops and in the colour of the sea. If I remember it right there was also some gold ornamentation.” he recounted, his cheeks becoming warmer with each syllable that left his mouth. Whitebeard was beaming while many looked rather surprised, some had even their jaw dropping down to the floor. It was highly unusual for Marco to pay attention to anything that wasn’t truly of interest to him. In fact, it has happened maybe twice in the entire time they had known him. 

“Oh…” was heard from Izo, the man looking rather troubled by that information. “What?” Jozu immediately wanted to know. 

“Well, you see…it may be just a coincidence. But the earrings you just described fit exactly those I helped Ace choose a few months back.” The commander of the sixteenth division explained. 

“Ace bought earrings for a woman?” Whitebeard asked, being visibly intrigued by this development. That boy usually had other things in mind and had so far never shown any interest in the other sex. 

“Yes, I was just as surprised when he asked me for help. Well, to be clear I wasn’t surprised that he asked me specifically (I’m not an uncivilized ogre with zero taste like most of you) but I certainly was surprised that he wished to buy something for a woman. When I asked him for whom it is, he just gave me one of those big smiles and said someone important to him. Naturally, I was dumbfounded and tried to remember if he ever mentioned a girlfriend or if he met somebody recently….” 

“Hmm….interesting.” Jozu said. It truly was an interesting development. “So is Riley more than just his sister….?”; “No, come one…she’s his sister.”; “But, I mean she wasn’t scared from coming here and demanding to see Ace.” , “True, no sane marine tries to get on Whitebeard’s ship.” And many more such murmurs where going around. 

“Get your minds out of the gutter you imbeciles!” Izo interrupted them “Just because Ace said it was for somebody important doesn’t mean that he sees his sister as more than that!” he continued.

“Wait, but they don’t have the same family name, right? So even if Ace were…ah, closer to his sister, she isn’t his actual sister…so....” Somebody else theorized. 

“Ace had been adopted by Garp, that is true.” Whitebeard informed the others and Marco nodded. It wasn’t well-known information, only a selected few knew about Ace’s family situation. In any case, that additional information by their captain made the others turn contemplative. You could nearly see the wheels turn in their head, trying to make sense of what they knew now.

“Gurarara, let’s not think about it any longer. Though, Izo…I think you’re still holding out on something.” Whitebeard said, knowing his son far too well. Izo smirked at this. This was one of the reasons Whitebeard was the captain and nobody – he knew his men and how to work them. 

“Well, Riley apparently returned the jewellery (which was a gaudy set, would have never bought that for a woman) with a note that read “Who are you?”. A savage reply.” At this point the others had to laugh, they could just picture how that former marine had his heart ripped into pieces the moment he had read the note.  
“So after a few more pints he turned really talkative….” Izo went on recounting “The lone marine had apparently entered the Marines at the age of 17, against the wishes of Garp and unbeknownst to him. She soon got herself into Kuzan’s crew, where that former marine met her, and managed to stay there for a few months until Garp happened to cross paths with the admiral. Garp and Riley fought for a while and Garp finally allowed her to stay in the marines but wanted her to serve under Tsuru instead. Just like in Kuzan’s crew, Riley excelled and apparently gathered quite the fan-club. At least if that former marine is to be believed…. He said he wasn’t the only one who hoped to get closer to her. Anyways, less than a year later she was given her own crew and the St. Michael. The rest is history.” Izo finally ended his recount. 

“That’s quite a story but considering that her and Ace grew up together not really surprising.” Jozu commented. 

“Though, I doubt that this is everything you have up your sleeve Izo. At least you wouldn’t have made such a show if it were just that kind of intel.” Marco said, knowing full-well that Izo had to have something else. While that information was nice, it was nothing too note-worthy. In any case, his book now lay abandoned on the side.

Izo smirked at this, again. 

"You would like to know, wouldn't you?" he asked teasingly, making sure to sound as suggestive as possible.


	7. Ibalin

„I have a reaaaally bad feeling about this.”

“Don’t complain peabreain, you wanted to do this. Nobody else did.”

“Yea well, I thought it would be me an’ Cap doing some scouting. Not me and you….” Hel told Michał, pouting. Lev Michał in turn didn’t say anything just concentrated on the task at hand. They were on a rather small island called Ibalin. It was a dry, mostly barren place with many steep hills and high, rather dangerous looking mountains. In a way it reminded him of the deserts of Alabasta, though the weather around here was a lot more unpredictable. And it wasn’t as dry and sandy, which was a relief. Michał hated nothing more than sandstorms and fortunately, those were a rarity in Ibalin.

“There’s nothing but stones upon stones with a few bushes and low trees. Nothing. I don’t think we’re going to find the rebels around here.”

“Is that so? And prey tell where should we be looking instead?” Michał asked his companion. That childish behaviour of Hel’s was grating on his nerves. Pouting and complaining is all he can do.

“Dunno, somewhere closer to civilization…bars, market places – stuff like that.”

“Ah, and you don’t think the marines stationed in Hafa or Akar wouldn’t have seen them by now?”

“Don’t think so, they aren’t as good as we are.” Hel said, sounding very convinced of himself.

“My, my, aren’t you sure of yourself, peabrain….”

“Whatever. Let’s just hurry up and be done with it. I’m sick of seeing stones already.” Hel continued to complain loudly.

“If you moan around this loudly no wonder we aren’t going to find anybody. They’re hearing you from miles away. Ever thought about that idiot?”

“Well, if they are hearing me they should come out and fight me.”

Michał, feeling as if he was loosing his mind, replied rather annoyed “Idiot, the point of hiding is staying hidden ….not rushing out by the slightest provocation.”

“That might be, but it’s really boring.”

“Agh, just shut up – will you? We still have an other three hours until we’re supposed to meet Riley in Akar.”

“Fine, but you’re going to pay for the drinks later.” Hel, wanting to have the last word and hoping to at least have something to look forward to, supplied.

“Fine, ts.”

Meanwhile, Riley was in fact doing the same thing. Instead of scouting the valley between Hafa and Akar, she was moving a bit more towards the northeast, exploring the mountain range that cut off the two cities from a good part of the inland. The locals called the mountain range Marelyas, after a holy man that once lived centuries ago but still inspired the people. Apparently, he had performed miracles and is remembered as a prophet. She had never heard about this Elyas before, but it would probably be a good idea to research more once she got to Akar and then to Hafa later on. The rebels they were supposed to look out apparently tried to emulate that prophet in refusing to bow to foreign rulers or authorities. Just like him, they had supposedly retreated to the mountains and sought refuge in one of the thousands of caves that were found all over the vast mountain range.

Riley wasn’t really expecting to find them this soon, they had arrived but yesterday evening. Scouting the region was an important part of understanding the topography and therefore possible movements and routes of the people living here. Once they had familiarized themselves it would be much easier to decide on the more plausible places to comb through. She also hoped to gather more information. What has been forwarded to them didn’t seem reason enough for a rebellion. Jami Senyan, who used to be a captain in the Marines until a decade ago and came from one of the neighbouring countries (but left because of family issues) had been installed by the World Government as temporary ruler of this island more than six years ago. Before that the three most powerful families, who traditionally would each provide the ruler for a decade and form the local government, were not able to agree on a suitable candidate from the Baliyyin family (whose turn it had been then to take authority). The Baliyyin family didn’t wish to rescind authority, as more than just the position of the ruler would be provided by the family, so they proposed to have an respected outsider mediate between them. They turned to the World Government and that is how the Marines, especially Jami Senyan, came to be involved in this. The World Government asked Senyan with a small corps of elite Marines to do this job. Riley remembered reading the initial intelligence reports which stated that the mediation of Jami Senyan was very successful and that the locals as well as the three families then wished for him to take on the position of the ruler – since that solution would be the most peaceful one until it was the turn of the next family to build the government. She didn’t remember reading any negative reports while she was on Admiral Tsuru’s ship, nor hearing anything besides positive or neutral news in the years that followed. It was strange that the situation apparently changed so suddenly, especially since Senyan seemed to be highly respected and she hadn’t heard any truly negative views in Akar yesterday. She heard a lot of the people praising him, not badmouthing him or hating him for being connected to a foreign power. Maybe some members of the families that traditionally ruled this island had begun to worry that he would become too popular and they wouldn’t be able to govern in the fashion they were used to, once his ten year rule was over? It was certainly a possibility. Though, it was strange that apparently the Baliyyin and the Carmil family had contacted them, supplying the information about a rebel movement slowly gaining traction. Was it just a smokescreen? To have them investigate while they disposed of Senyan right in under their noses? She really wasn’t sure about what to think, there was too little reliable information. Be that as it may, they didn’t have a deadline this time so she was actually quite happy about this assignment. Besidse, Ibalin was quite nice and she was itching to sample a bit of the local cuisine.


	8. The bet

It was already the sixth round and most of those that had initially participated in the game had lost. From the 21 participants in Izo’s modified game of Hanafuda only three now remained: Izo, Vista and pops himself. It was an absolute rarity for pops to participate in a game of cards, he usually preferred to watch (and amuse himself) the others play. But it seems the stakes were alluring enough. Initially, it had only been that book Izo managed to secure from that idiotic Marine that had a crush on Riley. If, and Marco wasn’t too sure about that, Izo could be believed, it was one of the rare intelligence reports by the Marines on highly talented youngsters within their ranks. Such a book is rather valuable and they had in their long career only managed to get their hands on one before. Izo’s claim that there was a detailed report on Riley was just an additional allure to it. To be honest, Marco was itching to get his hands on the book and read the reports - it was valuable information after all. Yet, he wasn’t skilful (or stupid) enough to try and beat Izo at his own game. In any case, a lot of money has been added to the stakes by this round and the one who’d win this last round would gain a lot of “pocket change”. Izo was trying (admirably so) to contain his poker face, though Marco recognized the signs – he wasn’t caring about the few strands of hair that had loosened from his otherwise perfect updo. Something he would normally rectify immediately. Nor did he care about the creases his Haori would certainly have if he continued to sit in this hunched position, which was also a bit uncharacteristic. This meant either that Izo was too nervous about his hand or so euphoric that he didn’t care about his less than perfect look. Given that he wasn’t biting his lip, trying to supress his grin…chances seemed to favour the first conclusion. Vista in turn was sweating a bit profoundly and his smile looked a bit too forced, not the usually overconfident grin he preferred, so Marco guessed that his hand wasn’t the best. And pops, well….he was sporting his typical grin which told him nothing. He could be having the best hand, or the worst. Nobody knew – and this was one of the other reasons why pops rarely played. Too often he had won the game with the worst hand possible, simply because the others were either too afraid to go with their hand or misjudged his luck. Fake it until you make it, that certainly seemed to be pop’s motto. Funnily enough, whenever the other crew members thought he had a bad hand pop’s would end up winning because he had the best one – surprisingly enough. It was a mystery to Marco. In any case, the game was proceeding and they were down to the last few cards. Given that none of them has called to end the game, it probably meant that nobody had a good enough hand. Though, Izo just collected the Tuski and the Tsuru card and immediately righted his hair. It seems that he was close to gathering a Sanko. Vista was grimacing with his pair, whereas Pops was being his usual calm self. There were two turns remaining and no the winner had yet to be declared. Pops had just pulled a card from the mountain and his grin grew immediately. The game was over, he had an Inoshikachou and Ta-ne and therefore called the game to an end. Just in that moment the rest of the crew erupted in cheers. A good part of them were teasing Vista, it seems that they were a lot more happy with pops winning the money, and especially the book, than their commander. Marco was rather pleased with the result as well, he was sure that pops would give him the book later on. Being informed and informing the others was one of his tasks after all. A rather smug smile appeared on his face. Ah, it certainly turned out to be a good evening. Vista was quite downtrodden and tears of defeat were streaming down his face. He’d neither get the money for his “adventures” nor that neat little intelligence report. Izo though didn’t seem to mind his loss too much, well…apart from the money maybe. He did look rather longingly at it while giving it over to pops. Probably because his little hobby of collecting fashionable things was quite expensive and every coin was therefore a worthy endeavour. Now that he thought about it, after Izo had introduced them to his variant of the Hanafuda game (and subsequently won many times) his outfits had become a bit more extravagant and expensive. Marco had to chuckle at this, it certainly was an amusing scene.

  
“Guararara, don’t make such a face Izo. I’m sure you’re going to win next time.” Whitebeard told his son while drinking his sake.

  
“Yeah, but I doubt I’ll be playing against you anytime soon….”

  
“So eager to lose again, guararara?” he teased Izo, who in turn only shook his head and smiled.

  
“No thanks, that’s enough for the next few years.”

  
“You mean that money would have been enough for the next few years - yoi?” Marco had to throw in, he couldn’t restrain himself. It was simply too good an opportunity to miss.

  
Izo, realizing what his brother was trying to do, held his head high and said rather haughtily “Good taste is expensive Marco. You wouldn’t understand, you’ve been wearing the same pants and shirts for the last two decades. Don’t you think it’s time for some new clothes?”

  
The others didn’t miss Izo’s taunt and where laughing at Marco’s expense. It was true that the commander of the First Division rarely spent money on clothes; books were usually his first choice.

  
“Ah, you see…some may spend the money to look cultured, while others would spend it to actually become cultured.” Marco countered, being smug like the cat that ate the canary.

  
“Guararara, son…I believe today isn’t your day. Let Marco have this round.” Whitebeard threw in. “Now, who would like to see what is written about our Lone Marine in this little book?” he asked his crew, who immediately roared their response. A circle had formed itself around Whitebeard and the book, the men eagerly awaiting the pages that would tell them more about Monkey D. Riley.

Marco though, was watching from the side-lines. There was no need to squeeze himself between them, he would get his hands on the book soon enough anyway. Besides, it was quite amusing to watch them. Who would have thought that a group of pirates would be so interested in one Marine?  
Pops looked rather relaxed as well, and that made Marco happy. These days their captain was either too tired or not in the spirits to spend a lot of time with his crew. It worried Marco greatly, his illness also started to proceed at a speed that meant nothing good. Which was why he had been rather pleased to come across these books at their last stop. There hasn’t yet been enough research on cancer, he hadn’t learned a lot during his schooling to become a doctor either. And the more he read the less he liked. His abilities didn’t help much either, they were always only a temporary solution. Whenever he managed to heal the damage the illness had caused it never stayed that way for long. Sooner or later, the damage would reappear…sometimes even in higher concentration than before. And recently, the periods between the healing bouts were becoming shorter and shorter. Pops had realized this as well and tried to talk Marco out of it…since it was a “useless endeavour”. They had gotten into a few fights because of this and Marco finally had managed to convince him to at least have more medical attention and hire more medical personnel, since he didn’t want Marco doing all the healing by himself. The books were presenting newer research and at least giving him some new ideas, theories to work with. It was a start.

  
Marco was so engrossed in his book, that he didn’t notice most of the crew retiring for the night and Whitebeard approaching him. The captain looked rather proudly at his son. Marco was somebody who never forgot his responsibilities, sometimes to the detriment of himself. Which is something Whitebeard wished to change, at least a bit. Edward Newgate dropped the intelligence report on the First Commander’s head and managed to give him a fright. Marco had nearly jumped out of his skin.

  
“Gurarara son, forty years and you still let yourself get caught unawares.” Whitebeard teased his son.  
“Hahahaha, how funny p

"Uups. I think you let something fall. Here, don’t forget it-yoi.” Marco said, massaging his scalp while holding out the book. That intelligence report was heavier and sturdier than it looked.

  
“Nah, I think that intelligence report is a lot more interesting than whatever you’re reading right now.” The captain said, smirking at Marco.

  
“Fine, I’ll take a look-yoi.”

  
“Take your time son.” Whitbeard told him, grinning rather suggestively. Besides, he knew that Marco wanted to read it, even if he pretended to be disinterested. 

Marco was leafing through the pages, looking for Riley. He finally found what he was looking for towards the end of the book. It was a report from just after Riley had gotten her own ship. He nearly devoured the content and he had to agree with Izo, it was quite interesting information. Though, he, for whatever reason, felt a bit dishearted after reading it. 

"What's the long face for, Phoenix?" Jozu asked teasingly. He and Izo had just joined Marco and Whitebeard, who was sitting right nex to him. It seems they didn't feel like sleeping yet. 

"Nothing." Marco only said. "I bet that he realized he's far too old for young Riley." Izo said, smirking at Marco who may have blushed only a bit. 

"Well, I'm not. Guess I should take my chances next time." Jozu added. 

"The hell you are-yoi. You're 40 and she is 23, that's 17 years. You could be her father." Marco countered. 

"Well, that's still three years closer to her age than you, hahaha. Besides, I think I'm also more her type than you are." Jozu said, just to rile Marco. 

"You're delusional. All of you are far too boarish for her. I'm the most compatible with her out of everybody." Izo threw in, sounding rather self-confident. The other two weren't looking all to happy with that statement.

"Gurararara, I guess I truly have competition now. Won't be that easy to secure my marriage next time we see the Lone Marine." Whitebeard added. 

"As if she'd be interested in any of us...." Marco said, more to himself than anybody else.

"Son, don't disregard your chances. You never truly know until you try. " Whitebeard told him, grinning from ear to ear. 

"She does have a rather impressive biography so far. Entered the Marines quite late after she turned 18, rose through a number ranks in the following years, got her own ship with a role that was basically created for her..." , "We knew that already, that's nothing new." Marco interjected causing Jozu to look rather annoyed. The commander of the third division didn't like to be interrupted. "She operates with a small crew of less than 50 men, most likely all hand-picked (which is normally not done), but quite successfully so. It's interesting to see that she apparently prefers to use a halberd. An unusual choice, don't remember seeing a lot of marines with that kind of weapon...." Jozu provided. 

"Mhm, that photo they took of her is quite the shot as well. Her standing on some stony hill, holding her halberd in one hand, looking rather concentrated forward, the wind blowing her Marine coat away in just the right angle, her long, wavy hair flowing freely....it is a perfect shot. She looks like a true warrior princess. You don't mind me cutting that photography out and putting it on my wall, pops?" Izo asked, trying to sound as innocent as possible. Whitebeard only laughed at that and Marco looked rather sternly at his brother. 

"Anyways, they were quite thorugh in collecting information. We now know that she was born on the third of October, is 23 years old, 187 cm tall..." , "Not tall enough." Whitebeard threw in, making sure to sound rather disappointed...which made the other three laugh. "That she loves stews, lemon-meringue pies and wine but hates clams, snails and tequila....", "She has good taste!" Izo interjected , "Her usual sleeping-cycle of 11pm to 6am (she's an early riser), the marines she can't stand (Akainu being the foremost of them)....." Jozu continued. 

"Yeah, seems like she isn't a big fan of absolute justice-yoi." Marco added. "No, if she were she certainly wouldn't have set foot on this ship ...at least not as peacefully." Izo said. 

"Tod bad that she's a marine. She would have made an excellent pirate." Whitebeard said, the others only nodded at this. 


End file.
